Esther Sanchez is known as a Coachella Valley music journalist, but she’s also got another thing going on: fronting the local all-female punk band The After Lashes. These women punk-rockers are mixing it up in an awesome way. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/theafterlashes. Esther was kind enough to answer the Lucky 13; here are her answers.
What was the first concert you attended?
Including attending the Christian school connected with my church, I spent the vast majority of my young life in church, and that is where I grew my musical performance chops. That said, it may have been Amy Grant, but I also have strong memories of seeing Stryper in Pomona as a kid with my mom who was, and is, still a big fan of Christian metal. She also took me to see other Christian metal bands when I was 9 or 10 that never achieved Stryper’s success, such as Whitecross and Barren Cross.
What was the first album you owned?
I can’t for the life of me remember the first actual album I ever owned, because I was raised under a very strict “no secular music” rule. The first music I remember purchasing myself when I was a kid (behind my mom’s back) was the single for Young MC’s’ “Bust a Move.”
What bands are you listening to right now?
My list is getting really local as of late. We have so much great music locally, and I spend a lot of time listening to guys like Throw the Goat, Sleazy Cortez, Right On Right On, 5th Town and Thr3 Strykes. Other than that, I am a big NPR dork and like pretty much anything from the Tiny Desk series, particularly, Tank and the Bangas, who I caught at Coachella.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone love, but you don’t get?
I am into a bit of everything. That said, a genre I don’t get is modern pop/country. I love me some Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Dwight Yoakam, etc. I just don’t get the majority of the new country.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
I have to go defunct with this one: The Fugees had one amazing album, and I hate that I never had the opportunity to see them live. Also, The Beastie Boys. I kick myself all the time for waiting as though they would always be here to enjoy live.
What’s your favorite musical guilty pleasure?
Easy: Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” My sister Serene and I love to bust it out when we are feeling particularly sassy. One of these days, I would love for The After Lashes to do a punky cover of it.
What’s your favorite music venue?
Some of the coolest concerts I have ever attended have been intimate shows at various House of Blues locations.
What’s the one song lyric you can’t get out of your head?
Probably from my peeps from 5th Town. ”Why don’t you tell me I’m pretty?!?!”
What band or artist changed your life? How?
Led Zeppelin, because my mom layered them, and they are arguably the greatest. A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde showed me how deep and poetic hip-hop could be.
You have one question to ask one musician. What’s the question, and who are you asking?
“Hey, Little Richard? What do you really think of Elvis?”
What song would you like played at your funeral?
“Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta,” Geto Boys.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
The Fugees, The Score.
What song should everyone listen to right now?
“Tight Pants/Body Rolls” by Leslie Hall. (Scroll down to hear it.)